www.football365.com/news/big-weekend-mourinho-pogba-tottenham-giroudBig Weekend: Mourinho, Pogba, Tottenham, GiroudGame to watch – Huddersfield Town vs Manchester UnitedNow you’re here, we can be brutally honest with each other: this is not a vintage weekend of football. After a glorious midweek in which we giggled and purred in almost equal measures, the FA Cup draw was not kind. Having five games on television is all well and good, but one on Friday and another on Monday means that Sunday only has one televised game. That just won’t do for those of us who wish to gorge on the feast.
Still, there’s no doubting that it means an awful lot to Jose Mourinho. One of the truths of 24-hour media coverage is that a top-six team is either in crisis or on cloud nine, and Manchester United have been plunged into the former. If it all sounds hyperbolic, that’s because it is.
With the League Cup and Premier League gone and Champions League unlikely, the FA Cup is Manchester United’s one realistic hope of winning a trophy this season. We know how much that matters to Mourinho from the way he instructed his players to hold up three fingers in their celebrations of Europa League victory.
Since 2002, Mourinho has only ever suffered three trophyless seasons. This would be his third in the last five years. It adds fuel to the argument that something has changed in him. His reputation is being chipped away.
It is fitting that another seminal moment in United’s season occurs at the John Smith’s Stadium, given that this was where the season started to unravel. On the morning of October 21, United were two points behind Manchester City and had already carved a seven-point gap to fifth place. They have since lost six of their 14 away games in all competitions. The gap to City is 16, the gap to fifth just four.
Manchester United’s home form is sensational, as it nearly always has been in the Premier League era. Their home record under Mourinho in all competitions reads: Played 50, Won 35, Drawn 13, Lost 2. Those two defeats have both come against City. Yet their away form has let them down, not just results but performances too. Liverpool, Chelsea and City all have better records on the road.
That all makes a trip to Huddersfield vitally important. Mourinho needs his team to find some stability in defence, potentially by dropping Chris Smalling, but also some zip in attack. Alexis Sanchez was supposed to be the catalyst for reinvigoration, but so far it has only caused Anthony Martial to be pushed out of position and Paul Pogba to look a little lost.
One-on-one battle to watch – Jose Mourinho vs Paul PogbaWe have to remember that every leak comes for a reason. Given the source of this one, it is pretty clear that it has come from Mourinho himself. He wants it to be known that Pogba is not happy with his role in the team since Sanchez arrived.
Perhaps Mourinho has done this to show Pogba that he will not be messed with. Maybe he is hoping Manchester United fans side with Sanchez. Or, as is most likely, this is a message to United’s board that they need to buy him another central midfielder so that he can play with a 4-3-3 formation and keep their most valuable asset happy. With Mourinho, there is always a strategy.
Firstly, Pogba is right. At Juventus he flourished on the left of a midfield three, so spending £90m on a midfielder and then playing him out of position would seem particularly wanton. Pick him there again and he might flourish. In fact, he already has at United.
Unfortunately, that leaves Mourinho with three problems. The first is that he is not a manager who enjoys over-committing players forward, and a left side of Luke Shaw/Ashley Young, Pogba and Sanchez has the potential to be exploited by the counter-attack. Secondly, it would mean picking Ander Herrera on the right of the midfield three – a player that Mourinho doesn’t particularly care for in a position that doesn’t really fit him.
Finally, playing with a regulation 4-3-3 would surely necessitate dropping Jesse Lingard, who has emerged as one of Manchester United’s better players this season,. With Marcus Rashford already struggling for starts, keeping a link from the academy in the first team is important for Mourinho to fuel his counter to the argument that he prefers ready-made stars.
Whatever Mourinho’s solution, Pogba must improve. He was excellent at the start of the season, but has not yet moved out of second gear since his injury. He was clearly hampered by a knock last week, but being outclassed by Mo Diame is not a strong look for a superstar footballer. Both he and his manager need a change of mood.
"United’s flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich dead. Before their limbs grew stiff and cold, their heart’s blood dyed it’s ev’ry fold. Then raise United’s banner high, beneath it’s shade we’ll live and die. So keep the faith and never fear." 
